Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Microtransactions – good or bad?

Forza Motorsport 5 – first you pay £50, then you pay the microtransactions

GameCentral readers discusses the furore over microtransactions and debate whether they’re ruining gaming or just opening it up to more people.

The discussion point for this weekend’s Inbox has certainly been a hot topic now for months, especially since retail games like Forza Motorsport 5 and Gran Turismo 6 began incorporating mobile game style in-app purchases. But we wanted to know what you really think about the issue and whether you believe microtransactions can be implemented fairly.

The majority of the responses were negative, but a few people did insist that it was only the worst cases that were making the headlines – and ruining the concept for everyone else. Readers also stuck up for purely cosmetic microtransactions, in games like Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2, and charity-based ones.

I’d buy that for a high price
I don’t like microtransactions. I don’t recall buying any game-related microstransaction. I recently bought Final Fantasy VI on Android for £10.99 (or thereabouts) and am really enjoying it, but imagine it being free (or very cheap) and then having to pay to increase magic capability, obtain potions or elixirs or buy special summon spells. I would delete it shortly after downloading and never play it. The fact is that it’s a good game and I was happy to pay that higher price for it.

I honestly question the sense of anyone who buys anything using a microtransaction – it encourages future use, encourages greed and encourages cheap cash-ins. If you are a regular user of microtransactions then you are also part of the problem and are the reason why companies such as EA continue to implement it. Stop it!Woko

Certain rules
Yes, I have went in for microtransactions, but for the most part, I only do it when it’s a charity-based thing. The two major examples are Team Fortress 2’s Humanitarian’s Hachimaki and the Enchanted Fey Dragon. I so, so do not mind contributing like this when there’s a good cause behind it. Thing is, I know people will say that they only get a portion of it, but it’s still something, no matter which way you slice it.

As for other microtransactions, I will say that I occasionally drop a few quid here and there, but it has to follow a few rules: It has to be something that is an extra, not locked content behind a paywall (like the previously mentioned cosmetics), and it can’t just be a shortcut to success (buying gems in Dragonvale or something like that).

If a game tries to either impede my progress using a wall with an ‘Insert money to continue’ sign on it, or repeatedly demands me to buy shortcuts that ruin a game’s fun, then I tend to distance myself. Quickly.DarkSapphire

Ignore the gamers
I’ve never used microtransactions and I’m even still a bit unsettled by downloadable content, as I often regard it as an indirect means of preventing gamers buying and playing other games.

Microtransactions, though, are far more dishonest. I simply can’t accept them as a justification for publishers of full retail games who are faced with escalating development costs or a means of minimising risk: if their inclusion isn’t down to pure greed, why aren’t they developing games that can be profitable through conventional means?

If it’s about cost, I assume the worst offenders already attempted sensible projects on less expensive platforms like handheld machines or the Wii U. Oh wait, they did nothing of the sort.

Even when they don’t ruin a game (like in Plants Vs. Zombies 2 or Mass Effect 3), I feel that the games are somewhat tainted by them nonetheless.

Unfortunately for all the savvy gamers who send angry messages to the likes of EA, I’d guess that the message those publishers actually take away will be a very different one: we don’t need to stop ruining games with microtransactions; we need to keep doing what we’re doing while attracting less savvy consumers. EA’s customer review cover-up says it all, really.Panda

Just say no
I think, therefore I am. And what I think is that megatransactions are shameless coercion or in lesser cases temptation, like waving a pie under the nose of a fat brummie. The temptation is great, yes and the will of some is weak. Especially those who don’t pay the bills, funny how there is an outcry over betting machines yet the online robbery is left to run riot, frolicking over the bank accounts of the weak.

They don’t think therefore they are mugs, and there’s a lot of them, millions of them, it’s one of the great enlightening moments of the Internet, the day we all went online was the day we realised just how many stupid people there really are, now it all makes sense, like lambs to the slaughter. Don’t blame the executioner, blame the sheep. For what would you do in the face of so many gullible people if you wanted to make money? Milky milky.

Just say no kids, if you’re incapable of that it’s your own fault. They owe you nothing, they are businesses not charities. Moan all you like so long as you are handing over the green, why the hell should they care?RyokoSparda

Nothing is free
I am not entirely against in-app purchases but have not paid for any in traditional types of games.

The few traditional games like Plants Vs. Zombies 2 and Montezuma Blitz I have played tend to amuse me for a while but I ultimately delete them before I spend anything on them.

I am fine with the adverts in free apps. Although they are annoying I see them as a way for the developers to earn money which otherwise they will not receive from me.

I also have a few free puzzle apps like Jigsaw and Kakuro. I find these puzzle type apps better suited to the freemium model as you are essentially buying more puzzles. This is something I have spent money on previously.

When it comes to full games I would much rather pay for a complete game than the freemium style ones which are becoming increasingly more demanding on the pocket and ultimately less rewarding to play.

Episodic games work well like The Walking Dead and the iOS release of Ghost Trick. However, I knew I would like these games and just purchased them as a whole series/game.

Games which are very puzzle-orientated like Angry Birds can also fit the model well. This is probably why it was so successful.

Sadly many iOS users see ‘proper’ full games as overpriced and would rather try and get enjoyment from a ‘free’ game. Seeing how long they can play it until they ultimately delete it. (Like I did with Montezuma Blitz.)PazJohnMitch

Scaling up
EA games call these microtransactions. The prefix ‘micro’ means one millionth. That means EA Games expects you to make a million of these transactions at £70 a pop.

Call me old-fashioned but I think that £70,000,000 is way too much to pay for a simple mobile game.Frank87

Warning: sarcasm
I prefer my games with more microtransactions to be honest. I find the whole console and PC gaming model so dated, I struggle to leverage any fun. Even the free ad-based mobile games just don’t do it for me any more.

The more I can pay to easily win a game without even trying the better. I normally go straight in and look for the £70+ microtransaction bundles straight away and buy them. I usually win everything after that, which makes me the best. My gaming skills truly are legendary. Personally, I would prefer the microtransaction bundles to cost more because then less other people would be able to buy them and I’d be even better at being the best gamer.

I just can’t understand all the people who come on GC and talk about the countless hours of their lives they waste in AAA games, not to mention the effort of having to learn new skills, solve problems, etc. and really have to work to achieve anything. In my favourite microtransaction games I can get an achievement whenever I want – I just pay some money. I can even play these games without even having to do anything, which frees me up to watch real TV at the same time.monkee_nutz (PSN ID)
PS: Currently playing anything with the word saga in it.
PPS: You really should cover more microtransaction games if you want to be considered a serious website for gamers. Otherwise, I fear your franchise may not make it into the long tail.

Sign of the times
Over this period of austerity I’ve noticed companies resorting to nastier tactics of relieving people of their money.

Gambling is sold as harmless glamorous fun, payday loans with nightmarish APR are presented as normal and convenient. Ambulance-chasing lawyers encourage everyone to sue everyone else for the slightest accident or injury.

Microtransactions are just another symptom of this unscrupulous malaise. I never have and I never will pay to advance my progress/performance in a video game. The whole concept is ridiculous. Especially if you’ve gone out and bought the game in the first place.

I think I’d either have to be seriously drunk or lobotomised to use real money to unlock a better gun or a faster car in a retail title.

Why buy a game then spend more pounds to effectively break the game design just so you can win?
What exactly are you winning? A chance to squander money, that’s what.

To the people who are feeding the vile spawn of microtransactions I say, please stop. If you hate having money that much give it away to charity. Feed the hungry not immoral gaming executives.msv858 (Twitter)

Second thoughtsSpartacus Legends. Tiny Death Star. These are the two microtransaction games I’ve played. I haven’t used any real money in either game. Both are OK games, but I think Tiny Death Star is the greedier of the two, since it tries to force you into paying to proceed quicker: I have 18 levels now, but still the first elevator. I cannot see how you can get an upgrade without real money, unless you play it for several years.

I really like the art style and the music, but it isn’t an OK game really, now I think about it. I’m going to uninstall it. I have a Dice Wars clone as my phone game of choice now anyway, it is free, and I don’t need to wait a day to make a move, etc.Apaullo Creed
PS: I did fancy Forza Motorsport 5, but haven’t bought it because of microtransactions.